South African poachers continue to target abalone farms today

On April 26 this year, staff at the HIK abalone farm near Hoston, South Africa, manage an open-top tank. High demand is spurring farmed abalone as an alternative to wild-caught abalone. HIK Abalone raises approximately 13 million abalone at a time in two farms on the southern coast. AP Yonhap News The abalone industry is an important fishery industry in South Africa. As of 2011, it accounted for over 90% of South Africa's seafood production and was a major source of income for fishermen. On the 20th, the Associated Press reported on the changes that have occurred due to abalone in fishing communities on the southern coast of South Africa over the past 30 years. Almost everyone in Hoston on the south coast grew up catching abalone. But when the poachers gathered, everything was ruined. At first, as poachers flocked to catch all the abalone they could find, the South African government completely banned abalone fishing and then implemented a strict quota system. I was able to ...